Children from the border areas of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are holding a forum-theatre

BISHKEK, 27 April 2017 – A forum-theatre is held in the border school named after B. Khojaev in the village of Aksay in Batken Oblast with the participation of schoolchildren from the neighbouring school No.62 of Vorukh enclave, Tajikistan, as well as officers from the State Border Services of Kyrgyzstan. Forum-theatres will be conducted in 19 schools of Batken Oblast, where 1,000 adolescents and community members living in border areas will learn rules for crossing border and undisclosed border areas.

UNICEF in Kyrgyzstan conducted training on forum-theatre methodology for schoolteachers from 10 schools in cross border areas to promote dialogue among children and adults. 

During the forum-theatre, which is theatrical performance, children can discuss the causes of problems and try to solve them. Performances reflect the mood of school youth, which is concerned about their future: the problems of migration and its impact on children, bullying at schools, and violations of the rights of the child, the indifference of adults to the problems of children, the fragility of the peace, but its importance and significance for the fate of nations.

"Today’s children are tomorrow's adults. To maintain peace on the border, it is necessary that adults know how to communicate, are open and value peace and friendship. Therefore, it is very important to invest in these values from childhood. The theater is needed to expand the horizons of children, develop critical thinking, and forum theatres contribute to the analysis of situations and the search for all possible solutions in crisis situations," says UNICEF Representative in Kyrgyzstan Yukie Mokuo.

For peace and prosperity promotion, UNICEF invests in children, teaching them a language of friendship and cooperation. For this purpose, exhibitions of drawings, seminars on development of one-minute video and civic journalism, as well as friendship festivals with the participation of schoolchildren and students of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are organized in the border villages.

The activities are part of the project on cross-border cooperation for achieving sustainable peace and development, financed by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund and the Embassy of Switzerland. The program is aimed at promoting sustainable peace and development in the border areas of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.